May 16 - June 9, 2013 Start the Festival in style with the SIFF 2013 Opening Night Gala! The evening features the Seattle premiere of Much Ado About Nothing, with director Joss Whedon and cast members Alexis Denisof, Amy Acker, Nathan Fillion, and Clark Gregg scheduled to attend.

Too often when a large corporation hurts an underprivileged community with a poorly tested drug or a toxic spill, the punishment is a slap on the wrist and a token fine. The anarchist collective The East hates that—so they've decided that the CEOs and decision-makers should be punished in an eye-for-an-eye sort of way. Brit Marling (Sound of My Voice, Another Earth) co-wrote and stars as Sarah, a corporate spy hired to infiltrate The East and stop their reign of terror, not to mention make a lot of money for her company, which sells a sort of "terrorism insurance" to shady, large corporations. Sarah proves to be an excellent agent, hitchhiking with anarchist activists until she finds her way into the eco-terrorist organization. There she meets the leader, Benji (Alexander Skarsgård), and his second-in-command, Izzy (Ellen Page), who are initially skeptical of her. As with any under-cover agent, the deeper she gets into it the more her loyalties become divided. Director Zal Batmanglij co-wrote The East with Marling as a follow up to their indie hit Sound of My Voice, and this film takes themes from the last and explodes them onto an even larger level. The East is an exciting thriller that will keep you guessing until the end.

Director BiographyZal Batmanglij grew up in Washington D.C. He studied English and anthropology at Georgetown University prior to attending the American Film Institute in Los Angeles.

SIFF's mission is to create experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world. It is through the art of cinema that we foster a community that is more informed, aware, and alive!